Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1372 - 1365: The Siege of Big South East Peace

Chapter 1372: Chapter 1365: The Siege of Big South East Peace

After five days of marching, the Demon Clan army arrived unobstructed outside the Dongsheng army-held Big South East Peace City, where they began to set up camp in preparation for the siege.

The Kyushu musketeers had proven their loyalty through actual combat, nonetheless, their journey to pledge allegiance was not yet over.

This was a large-scale military retaliation, the goal of the Demon Clan army was to expel all of the Dongsheng Empire’s armies, directly confronting the Kyushu nobility that occupied land in the South-West Outer Heaven.

This also marked Linglan’s first battle since becoming the supreme ruler; she needed to confirm her political legitimacy through action. As long as she could accomplish the first phase, namely expelling the Dongsheng Empire’s army, her position would be greatly solidified.

It’s important to note that Linglan’s position as supreme ruler wouldn’t be revoked due to public dissatisfaction. The Southern Yao Race federal state was a national state formed by multiple tribes, and the only ones who could affect Linglan were the former tribal leaders, who were now members of the Cabinet.

Having learned from their past mistakes, the Demon Clan was much more prudent this time, opting for a tactical retreat in face of overwhelming odds instead of stubbornly attempting to hold their ground like before. Of course, the march had been extremely smooth; the Demon Clan won two battles in a row and essentially faced no adversaries.

Situated in the central south-west region of the South West Outer Heaven, Big South East Peace City was a standard large city, its walls constructed entirely of brick and stone, even larger than Ziye Ning. Once this city fell, the Southern Yao Race’s government would be able to advance further south.

In the West Outer Heaven, the further south one went, the richer the lands became, and the larger the cities were. This was understandable; before the invasion by the Dongsheng Empire, the Beast-Ear Race had always lived comfortably, having large, flat arable fields and pastures suitable for farming and grazing, while the mines at the foot of the Thousand Peaks Cloud Summit Mountain provided the Beast-Ear Race with a stable source of foreign currency.

Unlike the West Continent, where gold was prevalent, gold was scarce in the East Continent, but silver was abundant, making it the main currency used for trade.

Another mineral that could be used as currency was the Magic Crystal, referred to by the East Continent’s people as Source Stone. Although Magic Crystals were consumables, this did not impede their status as a common equivalent in trade.

The area east of the Thousand Peaks Cloud Top in the East Continent was rich in silver but had very little reserves of Magic Crystal Mines; the reserves were abundant in the West Outer Heaven, to the west of Thousand Peaks Cloud Top.

What was more embarrassing was that the Demon Clan didn’t have the ability to cultivate, so they had no use for Magic Crystals; most mined Magic Crystals were traded with outsiders. On the other hand, Kyushu, where everyone practiced cultivation, had to spend a large amount of silver annually to import Magic Crystal Mines from the West Outer Heaven due to the scarcity of their own reserves.

Therefore, one of the reasons the Dongsheng Empire invaded the West Outer Heaven was probably this aspect, after all, relying on imports was not a solution, it would be better to seize the mines in battle.

This is why there has always been a voice within the Dongsheng Empire advocating for the annexation of Fengyu, arguing that the Empire would then border West Outer Heaven, allowing them to swallow more of its land.

However, this radical idea was but a minority opinion, and there were plenty of rational voices within the Dongsheng Empire. Annexing Fengyu would mean dealing with a massive number of Demon Clan half-bloods, who were inherently Fengyu citizens, and could not be easily expelled or eliminated.

The Dongsheng Empire, governed by Civil Officials, still cared about its reputation. Although the Dongsheng army committed indiscriminate killings in West Outer Heaven, if they did the same towards Fengyu, there was no doubt they would face scrutiny and caution from other nations, not to mention adverse internal implications.

Thus, for various reasons, the Dongsheng Empire didn’t annex Fengyu but instead made it a vassal state, creating a buffer zone between Kyushu and West Outer Heaven, as well as between the Human Race and the Demon Clan.

But without taking down Fengyu, the Dongsheng Empire’s forces deployed in the West Outer Heaven would find themselves in an awkward position, stranded overseas and without support. And, due to the long distance, the Imperial Court’s reaction in the face of the advancing Demon Clan army was exceedingly slow.

A year ago, the Demon Clan’s counter-offensive campaign served as the best example. Their army marched all the way to the outskirts of Big South East Peace City before the Dongsheng army received orders from the Imperial Court to hold onto the existing territories. Only then did the Dongsheng forces engage with the Demon Clan’s army in the suburbs and ultimately annihilated them.

Of course, this is not to say that it took the Dongsheng Empire’s Imperial Court several months to send out military orders. Rather, the officials had been discussing the matter internally, dragging their feet until several cities had fallen before finally deciding to hold their ground.

Indeed, the Dongsheng Empire boasts a Kunzhou fleet that is envied across the entire East Continent, yet the crises it faces are equally severe.

Internally, the Dongsheng Empire’s Imperial Court is plagued by incessant strife. Externally, the Beichang Empire to the northeast has always aspired to dominate Kyushu and restore the glory of the Chang Empire. The nomadic tribes to the northwest also constantly threaten the border safety of the Dongsheng Empire.

Therefore, under such crisis conditions, withdrawing the troops from West Outer Heaven was undoubtedly the best choice. It was foreseeable that had the Western Continent not interfered, the Dongsheng Empire would have likely swallowed up the entire South West Outer Heaven by now and gradually turned it over to the management of the nobility, while the military forces would have been recalled to the homeland.

However, the reality always differs significantly from the hypothetical, as the Dongsheng army’s unreasonable offensive led the Western Continent to align completely with the Demon Clan, assisting them in training a new style of military forces based on their existing foundation. The Demon Clan lacked only the guidance of scientific development.

Back on the battlefield, with an understanding of the domestic crises of the Dongsheng Empire, Linglan assessed that the Dongsheng Empire would be unable to maintain its military presence in West Outer Heaven. This gave her the confidence to boldly boast that with 30,000 people, they would drive out the Dongsheng garrison from West Outer Heaven.

The Demon Clan’s mobile cavalry was dispersed into small units, roaming and hunting relentlessly, cutting off Big South East Peace City’s contact with the outside world. At the same time, the Demon Clan’s army was also actively setting up cannons, launching fierce bombardments against the city walls.

For the Demon Clan, it didn’t matter if the city walls were destroyed or even if buildings within the city were affected. Big South East Peace City had not fallen for the first time; recovering it required time for reconstruction every time. Sometimes, even if it was peacefully recovered, they still had to deal with the mess left behind by the Dongsheng army.

The garrison at Big South East Peace City numbered less than ten thousand, and mostly comprised demoralized troops who had fled from the last battle. Having already been routed by the Demon Clan army once, they developed a profound fear of them, and now, faced with encirclement, the morale of the Dongsheng troops hit rock bottom.

The Demon Clan’s army did not directly assault the walls but instead set up mortars to continuously bombard the city with fragmentation grenades, intimidating the defending soldiers inside. This onslaught lasted for five days, during which the Demon Clan’s army did nothing but continuously bombard the city walls with mortars, taking the doctrine of firepower superiority to its peak.

At first, Cheng Ziang and Hu Daoke among others found the situation quite exhilarating, but after five days, even they began to feel weary, struggling to comprehend what exactly the Demon Clan’s army was trying to achieve.

Out of concern, Cheng Ziang and Hu Daoke went to the military tent to find Yunji, who was reviewing battle reports, and they asked her their most pressing question.

In the face of these guests from the Western Continent, Yunji did not hold back and straightforwardly revealed a secret to them: there was a passage leading out of Big South East Peace City, which the Demon Clan’s army was clearing to prepare for sending troops to infiltrate the city and coordinate an attack from inside and outside.

"Damn, so there’s a secret passage! No wonder they’ve been holding their forces back," Hu Daoke exclaimed in astonishment to Cheng Ziang upon hearing Yunji’s explanation.

Cheng Ziang fell into deep thought, his brow slightly furrowed, and he asked, "Is this passage... reliable? What if it has already been discovered by the Dongsheng army?"

"That’s unlikely," Yunji replied. "Before we withdrew from Big South East Peace City, we had already built two layers of wall at the mouth of the passage, making it not so easy for them to find. The Dongsheng army hasn’t discovered this passage in all the previous wars."

"How are we supposed to get in if the entrance is sealed?" asked Hu Daoke.

"The wall inside the entrance is not cemented; it’s just piled up and can be easily removed. As soon as the inner wall is moved, the outer wall can be breached, and we can enter the city directly," answered Yunji.

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